Breathless, I gazed up at the towering figure of Mr Rikkard Ambrose above me, that one word echoing in my head.
'Mine!'
I expected him to pounce on me, but he took me completely by surprise when he picked me up from the bed again.
Huh? What was going on?
Gently, he lifted me and, turning me in the air, placed me on my feet with my back towards him. I tried to turn around to face him, but he grasped my shoulders, keeping me in place. What was he doing? What this his way of trying to prove I was his? If so, I didn't think much of it. Iâ
That was the moment when his fingers touched the buttons at the back of my dress.
Oh.
My breathing sped up. This was...not what I had expected. I had inspected ferocity. I had expected fire, melting everything between us in a violent explosion of need. Instead, he was gentle. Loving. Everything I had never thought he could be.
The first button popped open. A moment later, a featherlight kiss brushed over my skin in the very same spot. Shivering, I felt a tingle travel down all the way to the bottom of my spine.
'Are you still certain you don't want to be mine?' a familiar cool voice whispered into my ear.
No. No, I'm not sure at all!
'Yes,' I croaked.
Another button opened, and another kiss caressed my skin. 'My little ifrit...you are mine! Now and forever.'
I opened my mouth to protestâbut the only thing that came out was a little gasp, as another button opened and a kiss left a brand at the centre of my back.
'I've heard you received quite a few presents today.' Straightening, Mr Ambrose slid his hands up my sides until they rested on my shoulders. 'It's time to unwrap my present.'
'Y-your present? What do you meaâ'
My words abruptly cut off when Mr Ambrose slid my dress off my shoulders and it fell down my back. My breathing turned hectic. Heck! Why was I nervous? I had done this already! I was an experienced woman! Experienced! Expeâ
From behind me, Mr Rikkard Ambrose's arms wrapped around me and he pulled me into a gentle, loving embrace.
No.
No, in this I was not experienced. But I so wanted to be.
Please, hold me! Hold me tighter!
As if he could read my mind, his arms tightened around me. Even through multiple layers of undergarments, I could feel his hard chest pressing into me from behind, hard. With a jerk, he pulled the dress off the rest of the way and, with a soft rustle, it fell to the ground. There, it was soon joined by my petticoat, and my corset. I still hadn't turned towards him. Even if he had let go of me, I for some reason didn't feel able to. I felt so...so...shy?
Pull yourself together, Lilly! Or better yet, pull the rest of your clothes off!
His hands came to rest on my shoulders. They felt like burning brands, separated only by one single, thin layer of cloth from my body. My heart sped up again, pounding against my ribs with an unrelenting rhythm.
'Shh...' Gentle fingers began to massage the back of my neck, making me sigh and lean back against him. His arms enveloped me and, from above, he pressed a kiss on top of my head. In that moment, it was as if I were protected from anything and everything. When his hands slid to my shoulders and slipped the chemise down my arms, my heart was calm again. Safe. At peace.
Mr Ambrose let go. Behind me, clothes rustled and, moments later, something hard, like a belt buckle, hit the floor with a thud. A burning desire to turn around rose inside me, but I stayed where I was, waiting forâ
'Lillian.'
And suddenly, he was behind me and his arms were around me, skin on skin. For a long, long moment we just stood like this, wrapped in each other's love and warmth, Then my hand started moving of its own accord. Taking hold of his, I raised it up and pressed a kiss onto his knuckles.
'Rikkard.'
The name tasted strange on my lips. Strange and wonderful. Cupping my face from behind, he turned me around until our eyes met. Gazing down at me intensely, he cocked his head.
I nodded.
Strong arms lifted me into the air and delicately deposited me onto the bed. Instinctively, I wanted to cover up. Last time we had been together, it had been in utter darkness, but now, the light of the sinking sun was flooding in through large windows and....
Everything was visible.
Everything.
Including him.
My gaze was glued to him as he stepped towards me, chiselled muscles gleaming in the light of the sinking sun. The bed creaked, announcing his arrival and then his face appeared before me.
Suddenly, all shyness dropped away. Grabbing him by the hairs on the back of his head, I pulled him down towards me and, when our lips met, it felt as though the world exploded. Fire! Fire and ice and cold and heat, swirling together into an inescapable maelstrom that drew me in. And I didn't mind drowning. Not one bit.
'Need you!' The growl that escaped his throat sent a thrill down my spine. He needed me! Just like I needed him! We needed each other, and somehow, unfathomably, we had found each other.
We started to move instinctively, our breaths speeding up. Slightly trembling, my hand reached out, groping for the nightstand. Finding a knobâand not the one belonging to my husband, unfortunatelyâI grabbed the drawer and pulled it open. Inside, my searching fingers found what they were looking for.
Hesitantly, they reached for the contraceptive.
Hesitantly?
I squeezed my eyes shut. Why the heck was I hesitating? I needed this! If I didn't use it, I would...I wouldâ
My thoughts where abruptly cut short as I felt a confident touch on my hand. Eyes flying open, I looked from my hand to Mr Ambrose and back. His hand had closed around mine holding the glove finger. Instinctively, my fingers clenched protectively around the thing.
Mr Ambrose cocked his head, and gazed deep into my eyes. A wordless question.
I swallowed hard. Tentatively, my fingers opened and turned. The glove finger fluttered to the ground, discarded. A wordless answer.
Crap, crap, crap! Lilly, are you mad? Are you completely and utterly bonkers?
Bending down, Mr Ambrose guided my now empty hand to his lips and kissed my palm. 'I love you.'
I swallowed.
'I love you too.'
Bloody hell! Lilly, are you smiling? Why the hell are you feeling so bloody happy right now?
My right hand didn't remain empty for long. The brand of the kiss still burning on my palm, Mr Ambrose's fingers intertwined with mine. Soon, our left hands joined as well, and he pulled me close, until there wasn't even a breath of air between us. I felt his hard muscles press into me, and his heart pound against me.
Lowering his head, Mr Rikkard Ambrose took my mouth in another ferocious kiss. 'I love you!'
One corner of my mouth twitched into a smile. 'Repeating yourself, Mr Ambrose? What an outrageously superfluous use of words!'
Dark, sea-coloured eyes bored into me. 'Not when applied to you.'
The words acted like the fuse of a bomb, suddenly lit. Tightening my hold, I rolled the both of us over and, bending down, returned his kiss with a fiery passion hot enough to melt an iceberg. And indeed, it did. Beneath me, the iceberg named Rikkard Ambrose melted right into the bed. My grin widened in triumph.
'M-miss Linton!'
'My, my, Sir. Is your memory this short-lived?' I stared at him, eyes burning. 'The name is Mrs Ambrose.'
Our eyes met and held. 'Mrs Ambrose?'
'Yes, Sir?'
'Y-you...'
I wiggled. To my thorough enjoyment, I had the rare pleasure of seeing a facial expression on the face of Mr Rikkard Ambrose. Wonders never cease.
Bending down, I pressed a gentle kiss on his cheek.
'I love you, too.'
His hand shot up, grabbing my hair. Almost painful. Definitely wonderful. He pulled me down until his eyes were boring straight into mine. 'Forever?'
Grabbing hold of him just as tightly as he had gotten hold of me, I made up my mind to never let go.
'Forever!'
***
Warmth. Soft, comfortable warmth. Humming contentedly to myself, I snuggled deeper into the pillows. This felt so snug. So wonderful.
And yet something was tugging at the back of my mind. Something important. Something...what was it again?
Sighing, I reached over, my hand searching for my chemiseâand encountered an ear.
I blinked.
I had heard of walls having ears before, but beds? Cautiously, my fingers slid off the ear, over a cheek with a high cheekbone and onto a nose.
'Dif,' came a cool voice from the other side of the bed, 'if not fe greeting I exkfpected to refeive in the morning.'
Eyes flying open, I tore my hand away.
Mr Rikkard Ambrose lay on the other side of the bed, gazing at me from under half-raised lids. Suddenly, all the memories from last night came flooding back.
It was a big flood.
My ears turned red as tomatoes, and I cast a quick glance at Mr Rikkard Ambrose. He, too, was looking at me. His eyes were...
Intense wasn't a big enough word for it.
Ravenous wasn't a big enough word.
No word was big enough. Instead, there was silence. Splendid, wonderful silence after the storm.
I swallowed, my eyes shining. 'Last night was...'
He nodded. 'Yes.'
A corner of my mouth turned up, and I felt the tips of my ears turn red. 'You...what you did...'
His chin rose slightly. An arrogant, triumphant gestureâand I didn't mind in the least. For once, he'd more than earned the right to be arrogant. 'Yes. I remember.'
Once again, we sank into silence. Lying opposite each other, we were content to stare into each other's eyes, discovering entire new worlds of happiness there. Worlds we were burning to explore. Only now and again, our fingertips touchedâbut that was more than enough. We were intrinsically connected by bonds so tight, so strong, that we didn't need to touch to be together.
'Mrs Ambrose?'
My new name was like an unfamiliar breeze tickling my ear. Strange, but irresistible. Leaning closer, I took the hand of...of my husband.
His face looked a little bit odd. If he had been anyone but Mr Rikkard Ambrose, I would have said there was a confused expression on his face.
'What is it?' I whispered.
'I...' Licking his lips, he glanced at the photograph of his family sitting on the nightstand, then his eyes drifted to my face and stared and stared and stared. 'I'm...happy.'
His words nearly broke my heart. He sounded like a castaway, after being adrift at sea for years, had finally touched solid ground. Moisture threatened to spill at the corner of my eye. My mouth opened, but before I could say anything, his arms shot forward, grabbing hold of me and pulling me into an embrace so tight I was hardly able to breath.
'Mine!' he rasped.
And, for once, I didn't contradict him.
It was long before we were ready to let go of each other. Around us, the world slowly came alive. In the distance, a cockerel, who apparently also had a satisfactory night, crowed to announce his success to the sunrise. Morning light began to paint the room in rosy hues as, downstairs, the noises of feet hurrying around and pots clanking started to echo through the manor house.
'Shall we get up?' Mr Ambrose suggested.
I considered his words for a momentâthen shook my head. 'Nah.'
He cocked his head, and then drew me tightly against him once again, and pulled the blankets up, snuggling against me.
'Are you being lazy in the morning, Sir?'
'Silence! I am meditating on business strategies.'
'I'm sure you are.' A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth. 'While you're meditating...'
'Yes?'
'Could you tell me what you said to Dalgliesh?'
There was a momentary pause.
'You still haven't given up on that?'
'In the time we've known each other, how often have I given up on anything?'
'Adequate point.'
'I'm glad you agree. So...' I let the sentence trail off meaningfully.
Once more, he was silent for a moment.
'It is dangerous knowledge. The less you are aware of, the safer you would be.'
'And that matters because...?'
'I am being serious!'
'And so am I.' Turning to face him, I grabbed his face between my hands, looking him straight in the eyes. 'We're in this together. You promised to share everything with me, remember?'
'Damnation! I did, didn't I?'
'Indeed, Sir.'
'Thrice blasted Book of Common Prayer!'
'Indeed. So, tell meâwho or what is "Enfield"?'
'Very well.' His eyes narrowed infinitesimally. 'I shall tell you. But be warned. This knowledge is incalculably dangerous. It is no exaggeration to say that, if it were to fall into certain people's hands, it would launch a war of epic proportions. It might very well be the most closely guarded military secret of the world.'
My heart made a leap. I guess I should have expected nothing less. For something to be able to scare Dalgliesh witless...what could it possibly be?
'Tell me,' I whispered. 'Tell me everything. I promise, I'll never reveal a word.'
'Very well, then. The secret is that in a secret weapons factory, Dalgliesh has begun to...' Leaning forward, he lowered his voice to a whisper and spoke a few short, concise sentences straight into my ear.
My eyes widened and my mouth dropped open.
'This...this can't be...'
He nodded somberly. 'It is true, I assure you.'.
'This can't be it!' With both hands, I grabbed and shook him. 'Butter? This is the big secret? This is what I've been obsessing over the last few days? You just blackmailed one of the most powerful men in the world into submission by threatening to reveal he uses butter?'
'Animal fat. Not butter.'
'Big fat difference!'
'Actually, it is.' And he proceeded to explain exactly why the difference was all-important, and what sort of power it held over Dalgliesh. I listened to him, my mouth gaping wider with every word he spoke.
'Holy cow!'
'A most apt exclamation for the occasion.'
'So if this gets out...'
'Dalgliesh's whole powerbase will crumble.'
'But why would he do something so dangerous? Even if it's to create a new weapon...'
'Because he's made one basic mistake.' He glanced over to where, on the nightstand, his revolver lay in reach, then turned back towards me, his eyes beautifully cold and ruthless. 'He thinks weapons are more dangerous than the people who use them. One day, that will come back to bite him with poisonous fangs. And I'll be there to make sure neither he nor the East India Company survive the experience.'
'No.' Smiling, I shook my head and reached out to take hold of his right hand. 'Not you. We.'
For long moments, we simply lay there, gazing into each other's eyes. The moments stretched into minutes, and thenâ
A knock came from the door.
Darn it!
Hurriedly, I tugged up the blankets, making sure to cover every interesting inch of Mr Ambrose. It took significant restraint not to throw a pillow over his face.
'Come in!' I called.
The door creaked open, and a timid young maid stuck her door into the room. She had a hand over her eyes, only peeking through a miniscule slit.
'Come in, come in!' I grinned broadly. 'We're finished fornicating.'
'Err...um...Yes, My Lady! Straight away, My Lady.' Hurrying into the room, the maid dipped into a curtsy. 'Cook is preparing breakfast. What would you like, My Lady?'
'Hm...' I thought for a momentâthen grinned. 'How about sausage? A big, fatâ'
My voice was abruptly cut off by Mr Ambrose's hand over my mouth. 'We'll have bacon and eggs, thank you.'
'Ah, yes.' Grinning, I pushed Mr Ambrose's hand away and, before he could react, reached underneath the blanket and squeezed his derriere. He jerked, abruptly. 'Bacon can be so delicious, don't you agree, darling?.'
'Ehem.' Shifting, my dear husband reached for his trousers hanging over the nearest chair's backrest. 'We'll be down in a minute. Let cook know that mmmph!â'
This time it was my hand covering his mouth. 'We'll be having breakfast in bed, thank you.'
The maid blinked, then hurriedly curtsied again. 'Yes, My Lady! Straight away, My Lady!'
She bustled busily out of the room, quite impressive for someone not actually wearing a bustle. Turning towards me, Mr Ambrose gave me look and cocked his head.
'Breakfast in bed?'
Flinging myself back into the pillows, I stretched and wriggled with relish. 'It's time you found out what sort of girl you married.'
Reaching down, he stroked a thumb over my cheek. 'Believe it or not, I have actually already figured that out.'
I was just about ready to throw myself at him and change my breakfast order from eggs and bacon to Rikkard and Ambrose when, from downstairs, I heard the sound of a door slamming, and, moments later, footsteps pounding up the stairs.
'That was fast,' I remarked, glancing at the door. 'I must say, these people are quick on their feet. I'll have to get the cook to tell me how he managed to fry bacon in such a little amount ofâ'
The door flew open with a crash and, panting, the young maid rushed back into the room.
'M-my Lord....! My Lord...!'
'Yes?' Mr Ambrose sat up straight as a ruler. 'What is it?'
'Th-there's a man downstairs...says...has urgent messageâ'
Mr Ambrose was out of the bed and across the room before I could blink. And, incidentally, before he could put any clothes on.
'M-My Lord!'
'Where is he?' Mr Ambrose demanded.
The maid's mouth opened and closed without making a sound. Slowly, her eyes travelled downward.
'M-My Lord! You...you are...'
Slinging a blanket around my figure, I climbed out of bed and, taking pity on the poor girl, dumped another blanket on top of Mr Rikkard Ambrose.
'Mmmph! What theâ!'
My, my. My husband made quite a nice castle ghost.
Smiling, I turned to the young maid. 'Can you please tell me where the man is right now?'
The girl curtsied so deeply she nearly toppled over. 'Yes, My Lady! Downstairs in the great hall, My Lady.'
'Now, that's not how we treat guests, is it?' I asked, patting my husband's blanketed shoulder. In answer, came a muffled cottony sound. 'Lead the gentleman into the yellow drawing room and serve him some tea and sandwiches while we get ready, will you?'
'Yes, My Lady! Straight away, My Lady!' Rushing out of the room, the maid made her way downstairs.
Closing the door behind her, I turned to my husband with the sweetest of sweet smiles. 'Mr Ambrose, Sir...I know that knowledge is power is time is money. But if you ever get out of bed before dressing while another female is in the room, you won't have any time on this earth left to earn money in. Understood?'
'It was not my fault that servant did not turn around in tiâ'
'Understood?'
'Hm. I...suppose those are acceptable conditions.'
'Excellent.' Having resolved that problem, I turned to the matter at hand, raising an eyebrow. 'So...regarding that messenger. Were you expecting someone?'
'No.' A muscle in Mr Rikkard Ambrose's cheek twitched. Reaching for his clothes, he pulled his trousers on and, unfortunately, also his shirt. It was truly agonizing to be deprived of such a view. 'Definitely not.'
I also slipped into my clothes. Having had to switch between Mr and Miss Linton frequently for the last few years, I had become quite proficient at dressing quickly. When I was finished, I turned and found him watching me.
'Ready?'
'Ready.'
Marching over to the door, he held out a hand to me. 'Then let's see what our visitor wants, shall we?'
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
My dear Lords, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The penultimate chapter of "Storm of Bells"! And, just in time for both the end of the book and the holiday season, the paperback of "Hunting for Silence" is now available on Amazon. Thank you so much to all those people who have already purchased the ebook. If you have time, please drop by and leave a review! :)
The link to Amazon can be found at the top of my bio on my Wattpad profile page!
Next week, the Storm and Silence series shall come to an end, and my next series shall begin. Sniff... ;-) I'm a bit emotional, after so many years of writing this series. Although the main romantic story arc between Mr Ambrose & Lilly can be said to be at an end, I'm considering whether, at some point in the future, I shouldn't write a volume or two on their adventure into married life. What do you think of the idea?
Yours Truly
Sir Rob